The synthesis of methane by the hydrogenation of carbon monoxide has been known since first reported and described by Sabatier and Senderens in 1902. Further, production of gaseous fuel by the gasification of coal has been known and practiced for many years. As practiced in the early years in the United States and later throughout Europe a low BTU gas of about 500 BTU per cubic foot was produced. In the United States, however, the coal gas fuels have been largely superseded by natural gas. Thus, the U.S. economy is based on a high BTU fuel. Therefore, any fuel produced from coal or any other carbonaceous material must be interchangeable with natural gas so that the flame characteristics and other characteristics of the synthetic fuel will match that of natural gas. Furthermore, coal contains about five weight percent hydrogen and 75% carbon whereas natural gas contains about 25% weight percent hydrogen. It therefore is necessary to provide an extra source of hydrogen above that normally contained in coal gas, if a synthesis gas of the proper concentration is to be achieved. Normally this is achieved by the conversion of carbon monoxide with steam to produce additional hydrogen and CO.sub.2 so that the proper stoichiometric ratio of hydrogen to CO is maintained in the initial gas mixture. The major problem, however, has been in the fact that the methanation catalysts have been notoriously sensitive to sulfur. This then required that all of the sulfur compounds be removed from the crude gas, prior to the methanation reaction over the sulfur sensitive nickel catalyst.